Epidemiology in Action

An Integrated High School Curriculum for Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Health By Annette Holmstrom Curtis High School Tacoma, Washington 98422

Epidemiology in Action

CONTENTS: Unit I Unit II Unit III Unit IV What is Epidemiology? Types of Epidemiology Studies Measurement and Hypothesis Testing Understanding and Preventing Health and Safety Problems

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Epidemiology in Action

Unit I

• • •

What is Epidemiology?

Definition of Epidemiology Its Purpose How It Helps Us Answer Questions

Activities: 1.

2.

3.

A Plague Puzzle Design a Disease Museum Debate, Data, and Current Issues 3

Epidemiology in Action

Definition of Epidemiology:

Epidemiology is the science of discovering causes of illness and injury in populations. Epidemiology studies are used to control and prevent health problems.

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Epidemiology in Action

Scenario:

You’ve just arrived in Washington, D.C. for an International Conference on Epidemiology.

Your puzzle cards tell us two things: 1. The city you’ve come from, 2. Whether you’ve got symptoms of some strange DISEASE.

THE PLAGUE PUZZLE You’ve just arrived from Paris, France.

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Epidemiology in Action THE PLAGUE PUZZLE You’ve just arrived from Paris, France.

If your card looks like this one, you are displaying a variety of the following symptoms:

• high fever • fatigue • severe back pain • sometimes stomach pain/vomiting • if your card also has an

you have a rash on your face, hands, and forearms.

X on it, If your card looks like this one, you are displaying no symptoms.

THE PLAGUE PUZZLE You’ve just arrived from Paris, France.

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Epidemiology in Action “ Epidemiology is the science of discovering the causes of illness and injury in populations. Epidemiology studies are used to control and prevent health problems .” 7 This is a health problem . We need to think like epidemiologists. Imagine you are the epidemiology team that’s been called in to study our group and brainstorm answers to the following questions.

• What would you do first? • What information do you need to gather? • What are your initial guesses about the cause of illness? • How would you know who has this disease, for sure? • What studies could you do to figure out what caused the

outbreak?

• How would you know if your studies were right? • If your studies were correct, what steps would you take to protect

everybody else?

Epidemiology in Action 8 In the case of a real outbreak, the basic steps in an outbreak investigation are to: 1) Gather information and confirm existence of outbreak, 2) Confirm diagnosis, 3) Establish a case definition – a standard set of criteria for identifying who has the disease, 4) Perform descriptive studies, 5) Develop and test hypotheses, 6) Implement control and prevention, and 7) Report findings

Epidemiology in Action To learn how to investigate a disease outbreak in greater detail, the following websites provide excellent lesson plans and resources: How to Investigate an Outbreak National Institute of Health Infectious Disease Curriculum Virus Encounters Note to teachers: These materials are free - for classroom use only.

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Epidemiology in Action In the case of our classroom disease, you may have hypothesized that we are showing the symptoms of a smallpox outbreak. In epidemiology, our HYPOTHESES are based on research, and must be able to be TESTED. You can research more detailed information about smallpox signs/symptoms, and the progression of the disease (what about those card with red X’s ?) at the websites below. Source: CDC/Fred Murphy, Sylvia Whitfield 1975 LINK: Center for Disease Control Smallpox web page 10

Epidemiology in Action

SMALLPOX

•

12 – 14 day incubation period

• Early flu-like symptoms -- fever,

fatigue, back pain, stomach pain- lasting two to three days.

• When fever drops, rash appears,

spreads. Forms bumps/scabs.

Source: CDC/James Hicks, Bangladesh 1973

• 25 – 30% of those infected

die, survivors left scarred or blinded.

Source: CDC/Fred Murphy, Sylvia Whitfield 1975 LINK : Center for Disease Control Smallpox web page 11

Epidemiology in Action 12 In any study, the first thing epidemiologists do is gather information. We want to know the

Disease Distribution

, or how the cases are spread across a population by gender, age, geography, etc. (See Unit III, for a more detailed explanation of a Chi Square.

) In our class population, how are cases spread across our population by gender, age, geography?

Infected Not Infected Total Male Female Age 13-15 Age 16-19 London Paris Seattle New York

Epidemiology in Action We also look for

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Disease Determinants

events associated with the appearance of the disease/condition, and - risk factors or prior

•

Disease Frequency

- how many cases occur over a given time period (more detailed info on this in Unit III) 13 Collection of aids, left, used by polio victims, including the iron lung Link: Polio Information Center Online (PICO) Source:CDC/Meredith Hickson 1977

Epidemiology in Action The Aids virus under a microscope Link: HIV Infections Source: CDC/Dr. Edwin P. Ewing/1983 Aids Kaposi’s sarcoma We also want to determine if the disease frequency is:

•

Endemic - low to moderate level of disease in given area

• •

Epidemic - level greater than what is expected in a given area Pandemic - level greater than what is expected in several countries and regions worldwide 14

Epidemiology in Action

DESIGNING A DISEASE MUSEUM

To apply what we’ve learned so far, research and investigate one of the following diseases, and complete the activities on the assignment sheet.

DISEASES AIDS Influenza Anthrax Tuberculosis Ebola Bubonic Plague Polio West Nile Virus Measles 15

Epidemiology in Action 16 ASSIGNMENT SHEET: Designing a Room in a Disease Museum Research your assigned disease using the resources suggested. Present answers to the following questions visually in a museum “room” display (using butcher paper, display poster boards, or PowerPoint).

• How was the disease discovered, and what was/is the

case definition ?

• Give at least two real-life examples of researchers using the

“steps in an outbreak investigation.”

• What were/are the

disease distributions, determinants, and frequency?

• Was/is the disease outbreak

endemic, epidemic, or pandemic , and why?

• What were some of the original

hypotheses about the causes of this disease?

• What

IMPACT did this disease have, historically, on the course of world events?

• Real-life account of someone who suffered/suffers from the disease • One visual that summarizes data –a bar graph, pie chart, etc. Cite your source. • Pictures/artwork related to the disease • Include correct documentation for all your sources.

Epidemiology in Action 17 SUGGESTED ONLINE SOURCES: Designing a Disease Museum CDC/Health Topics A to Z World Health Organization: Infectious diseases All the Virology on the WWW NFID Web Sites & Virtual Library of Diseases Johns Hopkins Infectious Diseases HIV infections PICO: Polio Information Center Online WHO/OMS: Malaria Tuberculosis: Ancient Enemy, Present Threat CDC /Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases (DVBID) Plague Home Page The American Experience | Influenza 1918 The 1918 Influenza Pandemic NOVA Online | Anthrax New Hampshire Anthrax Outbreak of 1957 CDC/National Center for Infectious Diseases Viral hemorrhagic fever CDC/Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases (DVBID) West Nile Virus Home Page

Epidemiology in Action 18 So what do epidemiologists do, and how do they help us solve problems?

Early epidemiologists studied outbreak of diseases, such as plague. They still do that today – for example, they’d be on the front lines if a terrorist-caused outbreak of smallpox occurred – and they also:

• Evaluate risk factors for diseases/accidents.

(What’s your risk of getting cancer?)

• Conduct long-term population studies to understand

what causes diseases/accidents.

(If you start smoking as a teenager, what is your risk of developing lung cancer by the time you are 50?)

• Design and conduct experiments to evaluate control

and prevention measures.

(Can stop-smoking education campaigns help prevent teen smoking?)

Epidemiology in Action To give you an idea of how important epidemiology studies are to today’s world, consider an important item to most teens today:

Their Driver’s License

Most states have instituted a Restricted or Graduated Driver’s License for teens. When you have a Restricted/Graduated Driver’s License, you are not allowed to carry more than a certain number of passengers until you’ve been driving for a specified time period (varies by state).

So why are they doing that?

Because of Epidemiology , that’s why.

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Epidemiology in Action 20 Website: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd 30/NCSA/TSF2000/2000ydrive.pdf

Link to more studies: NHTSA Research and Development site Source: Traffic Safety Facts 2000 DOT HS 809 336 National Center for Statistics & Analysis, Research and Development, 400 Seventh Street S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590

Epidemiology in Action 21 Website: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd 30/NCSA/TSF2000/2000ydrive.pdf

Link to more studies: NHTSA Research and Development site Source: Traffic Safety Facts 2000 DOT HS 809 336 National Center for Statistics & Analysis, Research and Development, 400 Seventh Street S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590

Epidemiology in Action 22 Other studies have shown a link between young age, distractions (such as cell phones and passengers) and a higher accident rate – hence the changes in the driver licensing laws.

While it may look like the epidemiologists are out to make teenagers’ lives miserable, they’re working for our

HEALTH and SAFETY.

Source: CDC/unknown

Epidemiology in Action 23 Assignment Sheet: Debate, Data, and Current Issues To explore how epidemiology studies influence decision-making, take your assigned “Risk Factor” for health and safety, and examine epidemiological data that sheds light on the current situation. Use recommended bookmarks, or check other useful data bases to find your own information.

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Then, decide on a change you think needs to be made, based on this data, OR a possible change that should NOT be made. This change can be by the government, the schools, families, communities, etc. Prepare a class presentation in which you:

•

State the problem

• Share the data • Note what the data does NOT say (how might it be misleading?) • Explain what change you’re proposing/not proposing • Tell us why this change should/should not be made

Risk Factors: Alcohol/Drug Use Teen Violence Diet Accidents AIDS/STD’s LC/1973

Epidemiology in Action Debate, Data, and Current Issues - Example 24

• State the problem

Overweight children, at risk for disease

• Share the data

Explain chart/results you found

• Note what data does NOT say Could this vary by region? What about socio-economic class? • Explain what change you’re School cafeterias should only sell healthy food

proposing/not proposing

• Tell us why this change should/

should not be made Will lead to diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Link: CDC/NCHS - United States Growth Charts

Epidemiology in Action 25 Debate, Data, and Current Issues/Recommended Resources General N H A N E S - National Health and Examination Survey - Homepage NIH: Health Information National Center for Health Statistics The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Alcohol/Drug Use National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Statistics, SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies Teen Violence Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention CANCER Cancer.gov

Cancer Mortality Maps & Graphs Accidents Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Sexual Risk Behaviors (STD’s, AIDS, Teen Pregnancy) Trends in Sexual Risk Behaviors Among High School Students --- United States, 1991—2001